Letters to the Editor | July 2018

Yesterday I picked up a copy of Chronogram and found Eric Francis' Planet Waves article and horoscope missing from your monthly magazine. I understand he will no longer be contributing in the future due to accusations (not convictions) brought against him. One more male, a public figure brought low by #MeToo, a movement, which from my perspective as a female, is worrying and dangerous, relying as it does on allegations, much as the Inquisition and the McCarthy eras relied on false and invented lies to fuel their causes. What these women charge, scanty in detail, is the empowering moment in their lives when past trauma, not from the incident they conjure up at this moment, but from some other time, perhaps as far back as childhood, when they had no power to stand up against their predator is unfortunately, misdirected. They have spent a lifetime in fear and anger, which now unleashed by a movement they can identify with, creates a venom so powerful, it gets injected into all males that have a public face as we are witnessing. This empowerment will eventually be revealed for what it is, but sadly the human cost will remain high, that individual may not only lose their career, but family and friends as well, and each of us will be narrowed and twisted by the revelation that we are held up to scrutiny for every moment and misstep of our lives.

I do believe that most women today, that have lived enough years to be out in the world, living, working, pursuing dreams, have had questionable interactions and experienced risk. It is part of life, how we learn and grow. A date, a blind date, a chance of promotion, the cynical pursuit of opportunity, a moment embarrassing in retrospect, a moment all too human, something we would rather not have had happen, who knows. We made that choice.

With this #MeToo movement, I fear, will be a backlash, a whiplash on the very women it professes to serve, those women without a voice, the poor, the uneducated, those who need that job, those that settle because they believe it is their fate and what is expected of them. These women are going to be the most hurt by this frenzy of feeding on the entrails of men. The women who come forward with their confessions, looking to have their past cleansed pure, may live to regret their involvement. #MeToo should involve both sexes, not just a women's only club, as the church has proven throughout history, they shelter a proclivity for young virgin males, who have to deal with the dark secrets of a shameful past which drives a great many of them to suicide later. We live at a time when a president can boast of his "grabbing genitals" and treating his wife badly in front of the camera, when his actions so obviously display disdain for the very people he is there to serve; his disregard for women leaves many of us feeling helpless, as if there is no ear for our concerns, no place to vent our rage, so the reaction becomes to point the finger at a more local and public figure, particularly one such as Eric Francis, whose articles speak of life, sex, astrology, and politics.

With this said, when all is considered, Chronogram might find their decision to sever their relationship with Eric Francis, an unfortunate one as they stepped first to the convictions without the proof, and the magazine may be the less valued for it.

I've just read the article "A Fascination with Fascism" in the 5/18 Chronogram issue. I want to let you know my outrage about it. Leni Riefenstahl was more than instrumental to the Nazi arousal. We all know how the Nazis moved the masses through extremely well-crafted propaganda. She was a key part of it.

To say that her involvement with Hitler "complicates her legacy" is of such a banality/evil drive similar to the Nazi's one. I understand that you may be following the nowadays feminist trend of re-discovering female artists, but this particular action crossed the line. Or the other trend of hiring interns with lack of knowledge for a minimum pay.